Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Tried to upgrade the KVM firmware over serial, but it wouldn't show up (using my venerable Dell Latitude D630 using it's XP side of the triple boot)... only to discover it has newer firmware than what tripp-lite has listed. Oh well

Played with the OSD a bit... this is not your cheapo KVM:



Has keyboard and mouse support... you really don't need the buttons on the front... double-tap scroll lock and you're in. It has independant control of the VGA, USB, and audio... not that such helps me (other than if I want to jam music while working on another rig).

Nice?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Awhile back I found an upgrade for this setup... a NOS Tripp-Lite B006-VUA4-K-R 4 port KVM... this is a "pro" model compared to the Iogear unit I was using before with an entire OSD system and the like. It also provides a front USB port and audio hookups (which many of my workstations aren't flush with). $6 at goodwill, heck yeah.

Installed along with a beefier gigabit switch:




The idea here is that it has two short cables and two long cables. I ran the long cables down under the bench so I can run two systems down there...




(my eATX builds tend to get a bit bulky)

...and two on top for servicing things. I swapped switches because my 5 port wasn't enough to do all this and also run anything else I add (print servers, etc.) and besides, what's a PC workbench without an overkill amount of LAN? Hell I could run a LAN party off of this if I really wanted to

All I need now is a proper bench-mount mini rack to replace the zip tie setup... may make it myself if I can't find what I want for a decent price.

Good start at least?

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

workbench for doing what?

Workstation builds, soldering, etc. Half the bench wasn't shown, all that was shown was the PC repair half.

[Curious.George]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

I have a KVM...the convenience is wonderful !

Right now it switches between an i3-3245 HTPC (Mythbuntu 12.04 I think) and my main AMD 8150 system (Win7 / Mint 18.3).

EDIT: I just realized I'm probably "preaching to the choir" here.

I found problems with many of the KVMs I'd tried "locking up" (keyboard) apparently due to switching power on/off for the PCs.

I now use the A/B (or A/B/C/D/E!) switches in the monitors to select the input source and have physically separate keyboards/mice for the different PCs (one on top of the workbench and the other in a "keyboard drawer" beneath). I've tried to standardize on one particular make/model of keyboard so my hands don't have to adjust to different key spacings, layouts, "feel", etc.

This actually works out better as I can now interact with "both" machines at the same time (I have multiple monitors "shared" on each machine so I set monitors 1&2 to machine X and 3&4 to machine Y). So, I can be viewing a schematic/circuit board I've laid out on machine X while typing up a description of the circuit on machine Y.

By choosing wallpaper appropriately, there's a persistent visual cue in each monitor to remind me of which machine is sourcing that video.

The only "trick" is then remembering which keyboard to type on to get keystrokes to the monitor you're interested in! (This is most difficult when a Sun workstation and a PC share a monitor as the Sun keyboards are arranged differently than PC keyboards)

[In some cases, I have spare inputs on monitors wired to keyboardless appliances so I can quickly check to see what they're doing without having to drag out a spare monitor just for that purpose! (I have a nice little 7" monitor that is handy in those cases)]

[Uranium-235]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

workbench for doing what?

[momaka]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Dang, that is one BIG degauss coil!

The GDM-FW900 looks good now. Honestly, though, I think you'd like that monitor better for gaming (if you do any, that is.) I find that for reading/typing and CAD, LCDs may be easier on the eyes - especially in a bright room (as the glass from CRTs tends to reflect too much and make it hard to see the screen.) But with games / moving picture / videos, that CRT will absolutely trump any LCD.

I finally built a computer last month good enough to play some CS Source @ 85 Hz v-sync'd to one of my 21" CRTs and... it's absolutely surreal. I've tested expensive gaming monitors at my previous job (several grand worth some of them), but they still had pretty noticeable image jaggedness (and terrible colors, when it comes to black levels - even worse than the regular non-gaming LCDs, actually.)

Anyways, good to hear it's properly running again.

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Glad it worked out! I bought out an old retired TV repair guy back in the early 90's when I first started....that coil was amongst the haul from that shop. It was worth its weight in gold for my repair business back then.....and it was 30 years old when I got it.

FWIW, that tape was on it when I got it too....

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Topcat is loaning me his... given the severity of the issue I think I need old trusty here.

...and today it came in the mail. Here she is:



Holy **** that's a big one. Just what I need. A few circles with such and we have:



Much better. I ran the internal degaussing to make sure it will stay, and it did. Must have been something with moving it in the back of pick truck for a 7 hour drive . Oh well, it's fixed now, yay.

___


FYI: the failed build has moved to this thread:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=74328

Go there to see me actually build it as a stand-alone build.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

I have a KVM...the convenience is wonderful !

Right now it switches between an i3-3245 HTPC (Mythbuntu 12.04 I think) and my main AMD 8150 system (Win7 / Mint 18.3).

EDIT: I just realized I'm probably "preaching to the choir" here.

Missed this.

The idea behind the KVM was more for "I need to test something but don't want to clutter my bench with another LCD and the like" more than anything. Generally, if something I own deserves it's own setup, it gets it's own dedicated setup. Then again, when you have a garage and a parents' basement full of spare LCDs, that's easy to say .

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Let me know if you want to borrow my degaussing tool. It is a Radio Shack hand-held wand-style unit, it only weighs a few ounces. It is good for (and marketed for) removing residual magnetic fields that build up on cassette player heads. I think I deliberately discolored an old CRT monitor with a magnet once as part of a test, just to prove the de-gaussing wand worked. And it did.

If the high frequencies (violins in classical music for example) disappear when playing back cassettes, this wand will fix things right up.

Let me know if you need it or would like to try it.

Topcat is loaning me his... given the severity of the issue I think I need old trusty here.

[Hondaman]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Let me know if you want to borrow my degaussing tool. It is a Radio Shack hand-held wand-style unit, it only weighs a few ounces. It is good for (and marketed for) removing residual magnetic fields that build up on cassette player heads. I think I deliberately discolored an old CRT monitor with a magnet once as part of a test, just to prove the de-gaussing wand worked. And it did.

If the high frequencies (violins in classical music for example) disappear when playing back cassettes, this wand will fix things right up.

Let me know if you need it or would like to try it.

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

If your desk is near a corner in the room, place the sub in the corner, on the floor - that way you will get the best/most sound output too.

Workbench is on the side of the garage.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

dims the lights very hard when it degausses.

I hope not a loose neutral somewhere in the house or service drop...

I would compare the voltages of both legs, when heavily loaded. (That also means the furnace and range running at the same time, and if you get a sag down to 111 V on one outlet and 132 V on another outlet, for example, means a shit neutral.)

Besides 285 Clinton St. in Springfield, Vt., 50 Atkinson St. in Bellows Falls, Vt., which is a Victorian, has knob-and-post wiring and I suspect a cob job, most likely done in the 1990s or the late-1980s. (maybe some in the current century?) Well, at that B.F. Victorian house, my sister said that the microwave we briefly had, would fail to work in a kitchen outlet! But the outlet in the living room on the north-end first floor, right before the bathroom, worked well with long extension cords to my UPS in the bedroom that I had, which was the first floor apartment on the north side. The UPS didn't complain at all, relating to the ground, the UPS got a ground at that outlet, hooray! (same living room outlet that was used for the TV)
That was from June 18, 2016 to February 24, 2018.

[momaka]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

So after all of this mess, main rig 4.1 is literally right where it started.

Well, sometimes certain rigs just don't work out the way we want them with the parts we have on hand. My latest one was supposed to have 8 GB of matching RAM, but one of the RAM sticks turned out to be defective. Not like I could return the RAM either, as it was from the scrap bin at my previous job (and explains why I found it there too, now ).

Also, I'd want to run SLI'd cards on such (since it's an Nforce pro chipset), and unless I found another 9800GT like I'm using...

Ah, if only I knew you were looking for cards like that. I saw two end on eBay last month for very cheap (both less than $15 and working). One of the auctions was actually for a SLI set of these cards. Pretty good deal.

The other nice thing here is that since I'm using a CRT, I can run virtually any resolution I want w/o distortion. Yes, this is Topcat's old 24" trinitron monster... needs some degaussing work (need to get a proper coil) but otherwise it works great and is the highest resolution monitor in the house.

Have you considered moving those speakers and the subwoofer away from it. If anything, I am betting it is the subwoofer. Remember, CRT monitors don't like magnets around. In my college apartment a few years back, I had floors speakers next to my desk - a set of Realistic Nova-18. Didn't realize they had absolutely no shielding and for a the first month I had that setup, I always wondered why one of my CRT monitors was looking a bit "off". Eventually I changed the speakers for a different set and noticed the affected monitor was now fine too. Put back the Realistic speakers again just for a test, and there it was the problem again.

*EDIT*
Seems that I didn't read the thread fully, as someone already suggested that.

Edit- the subwoofer is totally un-shielded:

https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1548042930

Not sure where I could move it... Either this system was made after CRTs fell out of favor or they intended for the subwoofer to go somewhere far away. Ideas?

If your desk is near a corner in the room, place the sub in the corner, on the floor - that way you will get the best/most sound output too.

Yup.....and mine is a jewel from the 1960's.....lights dim and buzzes loud!! ...and degauses the fock out of anything!

I have a 17" Sony Trinitron from 1994 that does this too - dims the lights very hard when it degausses. Scared my newphews the first time they saw it power on.

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Best offered on one... I see a bunch of uber cheap green wands, but I read those are garbage and only a true round "hoop" will do the trick.

Yup.....and mine is a jewel from the 1960's.....lights dim and buzzes loud!! ...and degauses the fock out of anything!

[Sparkey55]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

RD, got something with a C frame shaded pole motor?

Small fans, electric pencil sharpeners (of all things), can openers, etc.

These motors give off a large stray field and can be used to degauss shadow masks & aperture grilles.


FWIW, the grille wires in the bigger Trinitrons can get stuck to each other, giving the appearance of a degauss-stubborn purity/convergence error. Gentle tapping on the side of the monitor, closest to the error, while degaussing usually corrects this. If the internal degauss doesn't work, use an external one.

"Sony, no baloney."

Yep. In the Old Black and White single gun crt days that was how you got rid of black or gray spots in the corners or the sides when the tvs were sitting in one location for a very long time and then suddenly moved elsewhere.

[kaboom]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

RD, got something with a C frame shaded pole motor?

Small fans, electric pencil sharpeners (of all things), can openers, etc.

These motors give off a large stray field and can be used to degauss shadow masks & aperture grilles.


FWIW, the grille wires in the bigger Trinitrons can get stuck to each other, giving the appearance of a degauss-stubborn purity/convergence error. Gentle tapping on the side of the monitor, closest to the error, while degaussing usually corrects this. If the internal degauss doesn't work, use an external one.

"Sony, no baloney."

[ratdude747]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Yup...definitely needs a good degaussing then. Lemme know if you need my coil.

Best offered on one... I see a bunch of uber cheap green wands, but I read those are garbage and only a true round "hoop" will do the trick.

[Topcat]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Yup...definitely needs a good degaussing then. Lemme know if you need my coil.

[Curious.George]

Re: Ratdude's computer workbench... and epic fail build

Good catch! I was able to move the subwoofer and make the corner de-distort... but now the upper right corner is out. Even moving the subwoofer to the back of the bench doesn't help... moving the subwoofer 5' away causes both corners to distort. Moving the satellite speaker has no effect. I guess this sound system and the monitor are incompatible... or I need to somehow shield the subwoofer?

The larger Sony's are really sensitive to magnetic fields -- they even tweak the magnetics based on whether you purchase it for use in the northern hemisphere or southern!

Also, a nearby lightning strike will screw monitors up for scores/hundreds of degauss cycles.